


the goal isn't to live forever

by thatumbrellaoni



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Inspired by Saw (Movies), Kidnapping, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Saw Traps (Saw Movies), this fic is pretty tame really and I avoided writing anything graphic so no archive warnings apply
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:33:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27297199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatumbrellaoni/pseuds/thatumbrellaoni
Summary: I want to play a game. Here's what happens if you lose.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Akechi Goro, Persona 5 Protagonist & Akechi Goro
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	the goal isn't to live forever

**Author's Note:**

> it's halloween and I wanted less spooky and more sinister/heinous shuakes
> 
> [the art came first](https://twitter.com/thatumbrellaoni/status/1322420950437040129?s=19) then I was like, hey make your dreams come true and bring it to life (the reverse bear trap is my favorite trap, can you tell)
> 
> no beta and spur of the moment writing

Ren wakes up with blood in his eyes, vision blurry and unfocused. First thing he feels is that his head's heavy, encased in some metal headgear and he feels sharp plates shoved against his teeth. There's a lot of iron in his mouth and he can't tell if it's blood or rust. He tries to open his mouth to yell for help but everything hurts and nothing moves. His hands are bound behind his back. He tries to get free but it's useless.

He looks around the dark and dilapidated room and despite poor visibility, makes out a hazy figure across from him. Willing his muddled mind to clear and his eyes to focus, what comes to view is Goro sitting in front of him in a similar state. Goro is bloodied, arms bound to the armrests of the chair he's on and head caged in some sort of deathtrap. The contraption looms menacingly with it's prongs, knobs, and teeth judging from what Ren can distinguish under the dim light. He supposes he's wearing the same thing. He extends his leg towards Goro and kicks at his leg a few times until Goro stirs.

Goro wakes up as disoriented as Ren had been, blinking rapidly, immediately attempting to talk and break free of his restraints to no avail. They stare at each other, their labored and anxious breathing the only sound echoing in the silence for a while, realization slowly dawning on them.

They know who did this. They've seen the aftermath of this many times before.

An old TV that they hadn't realized was sitting off to the side buzzes to life. It merely shows static at first and then slowly, a robotic angel with incredible wingspan materializes on the screen. A glowing demonic face is etched onto what's supposed to be its head and a rotating ring with smaller wings attached to it decorate it's crown like a halo. A booming voice reverberates around the room and informs them of the 'game' they're playing.

_Greetings, gentlemen. You're probably wondering where you are. I'll tell you where you might be. You two might be in the room you die in. I'm sure you both are well aware of my work and who I am. I, in turn, am familiar with what you do and your methods ― Amamiya Ren, or 'Joker' as per your codename, with your Palace excursions while moonlighting as a phantom thief, and Detective Prince Akechi Goro with your mental shutdowns and rampage incidents on the side as a hitman. You two have been granted the ability to perceive people's hearts, manipulating people's actions under the guise of your so-called 'justice' however misguided that may be. But let's see how you two fare in your own rehabilitation._

_I want to play a game. Here's what happens if you lose._

_The devices you're wearing are hooked into your upper and lower jaws. When the timers in the back go off, your mouths will be permanently ripped open. Think of it like a reverse bear trap. Here, I'll show you._

On screen, the feed changes to a mannequin head wearing the same headgear. There's a ticking in the background and when it ends, the device unfolds with such force that it shatters the mannequin head.

_You've judged the masses for their distorted desires and passed their punishments as you see fit. But are you two worthy of the powers you've been given?_

_The key to your salvation is your teamwork. There are ways to win this hidden all around you. At the end, a certain condition must be met. I advise you to act. Otherwise… I'll leave you two in this room to rot._

_You better hurry up._

_Let the game begin._

The video dies suddenly, and the ticking starts up.

* * *

Ren retches in the corner as Goro falls on all fours, sliding off his chair wheezing and coughing. Beside them lay their headgear, timers at zero and sprung wide open.

"If―If―If I had been o-one second s-slower…" Ren's trembling so much, he can barely get the words out. "Y-Y-You would've… you would…"

Goro crawls over to him and tries to steady him with shaking hands. "But you weren't…" his voice is hoarse and it hurts to talk. "You saved us both…"

Ren shakes his head jerkily. "If you had―hadn't―deciphered t-the code, I-I w-w-wouldn't have gotten out and―"

"Ren, listen―listen to me." Goro captures Ren's face with both hands and forces eye contact. Ren is wide-eyed and looks at him vacantly, broken and in shock. He imagines it's what he'd look like too, if he weren't pressed to escape from here fast. "We can't dwell on this now. We have to go… get out of here and―and get help." When Ren doesn't move, Goro shakes him gently. "Ren."

Ren nods slowly. "Right… You're right." Ren unfolds his legs and helps Goro up. They freeze when they hear slow clapping coming from the darkened hallway ominously approaching.

An elderly man with wispy white hair clad in red robes stands under the doorway. He eyes the two boys with a pleased expression before making his way towards the center of the room, his cane tapping against the gravel with each step he takes. He lowers himself onto a platform and smiles.

"Congratulations, gentlemen. You survived. Tell me, how do you feel? Do you feel alive? Is it the same high as when you tamper with a person's Shadow, knowing of the mess their real world counterpart would be reduced to?"

Ren and Goro say nothing, breathing labored, shaken up but holding the man's gaze.

The man's grin now shows teeth. "That's the goal, isn't it? Watch those who've wronged you atone," he gestures to Ren, "or be destroyed," he gestures to Goro. "Different means but the ends are the same."

"You're Yaldabaoth." Ren cuts in softly and the man turns his head to him. "The serial killer. You're all over the news."

Yaldabaoth chuckles. "And the both of you have been trying to find me in Mementos. You've been racing to get to me to exact 'justice' on behalf of those who have failed my games before you. Unfortunately, Mementos runs deep and you wouldn't have found me at your level." He smiles. "So I went ahead and found you."

Ren shakes his head in disbelief. "You know things about us no one should. How?"

"Let's start from the beginning then." Yaldabaoth leans forward on his cane. "It was I who gifted you with your powers."

Ren and Goro's eyes widen, and he smirks in response. The TV from before comes to life at the snap of his fingers, drawing the two boys' attention, though nothing is on the screen.

"The media has trivialized the purpose of my work as expected, but there's more to me than being a lowly 'serial killer' as you put it."

Yaldabaoth snaps his fingers again and the video changes to a live feed of Shibuya.

"Humanity has stagnated and I wished to see if it was worth saving. Humans hurting themselves, taking life for granted, unaware that they're throwing away the grace they've been given." Yaldabaoth's voice shifts into a deeper rumble, an amalgamation of scorn and disgust. "Those who don't appreciate life, do not deserve life."

"So you're playing god." Goro scoffs. Ren glances at Goro at the corner of his eyes, a hint of confusion and trepidation behind them.

Yaldabaoth doesn't react and continues on. "One by one, I tested humanity's will to live by placing test subjects in life-or-death situations, but none of them proved to want it enough… until now." He tips his head in amusement. "You two are the very first to succeed."

"I'm sure all those people you kidnapped and tortured fought just as much as we did to escape." Goro spits.

"No. You two _fought_ and were rewarded. The rest merely _struggled._ That's why they aren't here now," Yaldabaoth points a finger at them, "and that's what matters. All those before you failed because _they didn't have what it takes_ ― but you two do. It means I've chosen correctly."

He gives another snap of his fingers and the TV screen changes again. It's now a looping montage of Ren and Goro going about their everyday lives.

"One who believes in societal reform and one whose agenda risks societal downfall ― whose 'justice' would prevail? Will humanity thrive or waste away? That's the premise of this experiment. That's where this all leads to." He shakes his head. "But of course, that doesn't mean you two won't go untested. You may have the potential I sought… but are you _worthy,_ is the question." Yaldabaoth leans back. "Rejoice, for you did not disappoint. You two possess the vital piece of the human puzzle."

Ren and Goro furrow their brows and look at each other. Yaldabaoth doesn't miss the baffled blinking, the twitch in Goro's eye, and how Ren's lips flatten into a tight line.

Yaldabaoth hums. "I sense that you two remain unimpressed."

"Because you're not making any sense." Goro seethes and takes a few steps forward. "You think we should be grateful… to have survived this!?"

"You must meet death in order to be reborn."

Goro's face contorts to one of fury but his voice is quiet with an unhinged edge to it. "I've died over and over as a bastard child… died a thousand more times after my mother killed herself out of despair." Goro takes another step forward and Ren reaches out to hold him back. "The world is a pit of squalor if nobody wants you, and I crawled through all of the mire and filth to get what I have today―" he tries to shrug Ren off but fails, "to survive up until now…! So don't lecture me about any of that shit!"

Ren notices something manifest behind Yaldabaoth and yanks Goro back.

"I'm gonna enjoy tearing you apart! You're just more trash to take care of―" Goro suddenly doubles over in pain and drops to his knees, groaning as he clutches his abdomen.

Ren crouches beside him, face laden with heavy concern. "What did you do to him!?" He looks up at Yaldabaoth and sees that a long mechanical appendage weilding a gun has sprouted from his back.

"I knew you'd be the source of any hindrances to my plans should there be any, Detective. Your will is no easy thing to bend." Yaldabaoth rises to his full height and squares his shoulders. "Breaking you would be quite the feat."

Goro plants both hands on the ground and tries to push himself up, palms now embedded with small sharp rocks. Another wave of pain sends him slumping back down as his vision blurs and his face smacks against the gravel. He's hit with a wave of nausea and he feels bile come up at the back of his throat.

Ren sees the gun's barrel slide shut and spin as if ready to fire. "What do you want!?" Ren demands.

Yaldabaoth eyes the two of them appreciatively. "I want you two to aid me in my pursuit of testing the fabric of human nature. Continue seeking targets to push society towards reform or ruin. Change their hearts… enact a mental shutdown… compete over it if you will. Isn't that how your relationship works? A beautiful rivalry?"

Goro wheezes. ""Fu… ck… o… ff…"

Goro's defiance only makes Yaldabaoth more arrogant. "On top of that, bring me humans who you think possess the same potential you two have. If they pass my test, they'll join your ranks."

"You want us to round people up… so you can murder them." Ren says, horrified.

"I've never murdered anyone in my life." Yaldabaoth waves his hand dismissively. "The decisions are up to them."

Ren hesitates and shakes his head. His hands hover in the air uselessly when another groan is ripped from Goro, not a clue on how he can help.

"It really is only a matter of time before he succumbs to 'hunger'. Any time now, stomach acid will corrode the lining of his stomach, perforating it, and the acid will spill out inside him. It'll eat at him until he eventually dies from systemic inflammation." The gun draws closer.

"Re… n…" Goro grabs at Ren's collar and pulls him down. "Do… not… acce… pt…!" Spit dribbles at the corner of his mouth. Despite the immense pain and suffering he's in, Goro's eyes shine with steadfast resolve. Ren's hands shake under their scrutiny.

"The clock is ticking, Phantom Thief." The gun aims down at them. "Refuse and I trap you here with his corpse forever."

"Ren… don't you… dare!" Goro yells again, his voice hoarse.

"… We'll do it." Goro's disbelieving stare is like having a dozen daggers gut him open. "We accept your offer." Goro doesn't relent, fisting his hands more into his shirt, and narrows his eyes in disgust.

Yaldabaoth snaps his fingers and Goro gasps for air. Ren tries to support him but Goro violently pushes him off. "Don't touch me! Why did you―!?" Goro coughs.

"You think I'd let you die here!?"

Goro glares at him and stands on unsteady legs. He places a hand on his abdomen and takes slow breaths. "You never cease to surprise me. To think you'd go that low…"

The words die on Ren's lips as they hear Yaldabaoth walk towards them. He's back to normal, the previous limb holding a gun now gone. His steps are light but echo all the same around the room, pebbles crunching beneath his heel.

No one moves, no one speaks.

Yaldabaoth walks over to Goro, wearing a self-satisfied expression. He tilts Goro's chin up with a slender finger and Goro's glare is icy and deadly. "You were always my favorite." He can feel Goro grit his teeth. "Unparalleled tenacity born from adversity, you defied the odds and rose from the ashes. I look forward to working with you, Detective."

Goro's hands shake by his sides, holding back the instinct to grab and break Yaldabaoth's finger. He notices Ren shooting him distressed looks. Anxiety radiates off of Ren and prickles at his skin and this somehow dissuades him from acting out. Yaldabaoth digs his finger just a bit more into the hollow under his chin before finally releasing him.

Yaldabaoth strides over to Ren and places a hand on his shoulder. "I have high hopes for you, for you're bound by nothing and infinite possibilities stretch out before you."

Ren begrudgingly looks up into his soulless eyes.

Yaldabaoth smiles pleasantly at him. If it weren't for their current circumstances, Ren would be none the wiser, believing him to be as an unassuming and harmless as the old man from the secondhand shop he frequents.

Yaldabaoth then heads toward the hallway he first entered from. "Game over," he calls out and then he's gone.

* * *

Goro walks over to the chair he was bound to earlier and sinks down onto it, understandably drained from the adrenaline rush and crash.

Ren watches him. "How are you feeling?"

"I experienced twenty years of famine in the span of three minutes, how do you think I feel?"

"Provoking him wasn't part of the plan," Ren says sternly. "You went off-script. He could've killed you."

Goro looks at him, bored and tired. "You said so yourself, he's invested too much in us to simply dispose of us now. I doubt he would've let his game kill us if we failed." Ren gives him a look. "Don't give me that. This was your convoluted scheme. I just played it up to sell it harder."

"Tell me beforehand next time. Please." Sarcasm laces Ren's words.

It became apparent that finding the 'prolific serial killer' through their usual means and normal channels was futile. As Yaldabaoth said, Mementos is endless and they had insufficient information to try and locate a hypothetical Palace. His deadly games had to be stopped. His body count has racked up significantly in the last two years.

"Luring him out by making ourselves the bait was the only way." Ren says.

Goro scoffs at him. "Your kink for danger will get you killed one day."

Ren smiles wryly. "So what now?"

"Well," Goro stretches from where he sits, "the hardest part is out of the way. We have to keep up the ruse for now then end him quickly."

"Make sure we're playing him and not the other way around, huh." In his periphery, the trap that was on his head earlier catches his eye. He looks at it, thoughtful, considering, until his brain replays the events of their 'game' in such a disjointed yet vivid manner that he has to shake himself back to reality. "Let's go. We have work to―" Ren turns back to Goro and sees him staring contemplatively at his own trap.

Ren doesn't take Goro out of his little trance for a long time, having thoughts bouncing around his head himself. He has a feeling something inside Goro stirred in the same way something inside Ren awoken when they won their 'game'.

Something twisted and sinister.

Goro stands and dusts himself off, comical as if that helps his bloodied and dishevelled appearance. That reminds him, he's just as much of a mess. He wonders how they're going to avoid suspicion and mass panic looking like they just went through a grinder.

"You good?" Goro asks as he passes by.

"Hm?" Ren turns to him. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Goro holds his stare for a bit before his gaze drifts to the metal headgear again. Ren follows suit and for a second, something dark flickers in the depths of Ren's irises. Goro doesn't miss it.

Ren whips his head back to Goro and catches the bleakness in his eyes in that one second before it disappears, as if it hadn't been there at all.

"And you?" Ren asks.

"I'm fine."

A slow smirk finds its way onto Ren's lips, more lopsided than it usually is. "Okay. Just checking."

After a beat, Goro returns a crooked smile of his own.

They make their way towards the exit, carrying less of their 'justice' on their shoulders and more distorted desires in their heart.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I'm a big fan of the saw franchise lmao took some words from the movies if any of the quotes are familiar
> 
> I basically took amanda's character (up until saw II) and pasted it onto the boys. you can watch amanda's test [here](https://youtu.be/Qt7k9WNcgQ8) for reference. warning for gore and all things saw stands for.
> 
> catch me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/thatumbrellaoni?s=09)


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